Vaisakhi

Vaisakhi is the ancient harvest festival in the Punjab region. It also marks the start of the new solar year and the end of the harvest season. Furthermore it has marked the creation of Kahsla. Vaisakhi normally falls on April 14th and sometimes on April 15th (once every 36 years). On these days Gurdawas are decorated and visited, there are parades, dancing and singing throughout the day, and many Sikhs choose to be baptized on this day.
Vaisakhi originated in Punjab but now it is celebrated in Europe, India and North America. Marches going from one temple to another occur in Europe. In North America some schools celebrate Vaisakhi.

Links:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/holydays/vaisakhi.shtml
http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php?title=Vaisakhi

Softball

Softball is the greatest sport in the world. I have played softball since before kindergarten and am still playing with some of the same people that I played with ten years ago. When I was little I used to watch my parents play slo-pitch for 'Big Brothers'. I play catcher in softball, that's the person who wears all the black heavy gear and stands behind the plate catching the pitches from the pitcher.

I have played on the Abbotsford Bandits for five years now and have been the top team in Abbotsford for the past three. Last year my team placed first in the Lower mainland and fifth in BC. I have gotten medals in numerous tournaments and gotten a number of MVPs.

Originally there was seven levels that you could play according to your age. There was T-ball which was the level you play first which are all the kids who aren't in school yet. Then there was mighty mite which were Kindergarten to grade two, mite which were grade three to four, pee-wee which were grades five and six, squirt which were grades seven and eight, bantam grades nine and ten and midget which were grades eleven and twelve. Recently T-ball and mighty-mite have been replaced with Learn-to-Play, an are with no winners and you just play to have fun. You can't strike out, if some one catches the fly ball you aren't out and there is no stealing bases. everyone gets to bat every inning and no one keeps track of the score.

I love playing baseball so throughout the winter I take clinics to become a better catcher and hitter. I am coached by the hitting coach of the Canadian senior women's softball team and a really good catcher. I can never wait for the baseball season to start or for my clinics to come weekly. Softball is the greatest sport on the planet and I love playing it.

Links:

http://www.softball.ca/main.asp

http://www.softball.bc.ca/

To stay updated with the Abbotsford Bandits visit their page on facebook.

Easter

What do you think of when you think of Easter? Is it Chocolate and bunnies? Painted eggs and baskets? Easter is a holiday celebrated around the world and originated from Christians. The Christians celebrated it because on Good Friday Jesus died on the cross to forgive us for our sins and then on Easter Monday He rose from the dead. But like many other holidays Easter has become something way more than a Christian holiday. Now it is celebrated by everyone with the Easter Bunnies, chocolate and painted eggs we all know and love.
The Easter bunny is very similar to its Christian holiday counterpart, Santa Claus. They both come on the night before their respective holiday and leave candy and/or presents for good children. The Easter bunny came from the Godess Eastre who was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons. Using the Bunny as an Easter symbol originated in Germany and was carried to America in the 1500s. The first edible Easter Bunnies were invented in Germany in the early 1800s and weren’t made of chocolate like today, they were made of pastry and sugar. Painted Eggs started when people boiled eggs with flowers to change their colour and bring spring into their homes. The first chocolate eggs were invented in Europe in the 19th centuray and are still one of the most popular Easter candy. Jelly beans are still at the top.

Links:

http://www.history.com/topics/history-of-easter

www.theholidayspot.com/easter/history/

Saint Patrick'sDay

Saint Patrick ’s Day is a holiday celebrated on March 17th. This holiday started in Ireland hundreds of years ago when saint Patrick died. When you think of Saint Patrick ’s Day, you think of Leprechauns, pots of gold and four leaf clovers. But do you even know who Saint Patrick is? Or why we even celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Well continue reading and you will find out!
Saint Patrick was born in Banwun, Dulias Valley, South Wales. He was the patron the brought Christianity to the Irish. He also rid Ireland of Snakes by tricking them all into the sea. One of the snakes was especially tricky and he had to trick the snake into a box first and then he was able to throw the box into the sea.
When Saint Patrick taught the Irish about Christianity he used a Shamrock to do it. Thew shamrock has three leaves. He explained that one represented the father, another represented, the son and the third one represented the holy ghost. The shamrock was also a sacred plant so this idea worked relatively well.
Now you may be wondering where do the leprechauns fit in to all of this? Well since Saint Patrick’s day is an Irish holiday and leprechauns are a thing of Irish folklore they just happened to go together. We celebrate Saint Patrick’s day in Canada because when Irish soliders came and fought in America they had Saint Patrick’s day parades to keep in touch with their heritage.
Saint Patrick’s day is a fabulous holiday and I love it because every time you see some one who isn’t wearing green, you get to pinch them.

Links:

http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/holidays/st_patricks_day.htm

http://www.irelandseye.com/animation/explorer/leprechaun.html

On My Birthday!

April 8th is the greatest day of the year. Many things happened that day throughout the ages and in 1995 I was born.

On April 8, 1994 Kurt Cobain, the songwriter and front man for the band Nivan was found dead in his Seattle home. He had a single gunshot to the head and a suicide note and gun were found nearby. He had a wife and an 18 month old daughter.

On April 8, 1973 Alex Gonzalez the infielder for the Toronto Blue Jays was born. He signed onto the Blue Jays April 4, 1994. His last appearance was May 20, 2006 and at that time he was on the Philadelphia Phillies.

On April 8, 1960 John Schneider was born. He is an actor and began at the age of 8. He had a small part in Smokey and the Bandit at age 14. He got his big break when he was cast as Bo Duke in “Dukes of Hazzards” in 1789. He also later became a famous country singer and wrote a couple of hit songs like “I’ve Been Around Enough to Know” and “Country Girls”.

On April 8, 2000 Claire Trevor, another actor, passed away. She was famous for the rolls of molls, floozies and broads and an owner of a saloon in many western films. She made her debut in 1933 and became a leading lady in many films with John Wayne, Clarke Gable, Glenn Ford and William Holden. She won an academy award for Key Largo in 1948. She died in Newport beach due to respiratory ailments.

On April 8 2009 A US space tourist, Charles Simonyi with his two crew members landed in Kazakhstan. They had all spent six months in the space station and landed in ‘good condition’. Charles Simonyi is the world’s first space tourist to visit the ISS twice. Simonyi used to be a Microsoft executive before deciding to travel into space. A link below will bring you to a video of their successful landing.

As you can see April 8 is one of the best days of the year many cool things happened but most importantly I was born.

Links-

Space tourist video: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7989226.stm

Claire Trevor: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0872456/bio

John Schneider: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0773884/bio

Alex Gonzalez: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/6077

Kurt Cobain: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/8/newsid_3522000/3522702.stm